BANGKOK, 14 May 2015 – The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will be trialing its Bang Yai-Bang Sue subway line late this year, before officially beginning operations.
The 23-kilometer Bang Yai-Bang Sue route, or the Purple Line, will begin its trial services in December. Its first three trains total nine carriages and will be imported from Japan in September. Systems testing will then be carried out to ensure smooth operations before the trial service starts.
The public will be able to use the Purple Line for free during the trial period. It will officially begin operations on August 12, 2016. It is the second project under the supervision of the MRTA in the past ten years, following the introduction of Chalerm Ratchamongkol Line.
The Purple Line project will have 21 trains or 63 carriages with a service capacity of at least 50,000 passengers per hour. The project was built on a budget of 82 billion baht.
